Friendly Rivalry
by PreciousJax
Summary: An old friend from college visits Logan and makes it his personal mission to shove Max and Logan together. *Now Complete*
1. Old Friend

Friendly Rivalry  
  
By Jacquelyn Arnold  
  
Disclaimers: I don't own any of this; I wish I did, because then maybe I could afford something other than public transportation. IF I get sued, I wont even be able to afford that.   
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Logan's Apartment  
Friday, May 15, 2019  
Around 7:15 PM  
Logan Cale sat furiously typing away at his computer, the latest crime against society running through his mind. This time it was corruption in the Governor's office, 'yet again' Logan thought warily, with Seattle's mobsters receiving pardons, for a price of course. Now all this Logan was sure of, but all he needed was the proof.   
"Maybe...hmmmm." He muttered to himself, deep in thought. "If Max gets that disk and the files--" Logan was cut off at the knock on the door.   
Bling is gone for the night, plus he has a key.' Logan thought as he shut down the computer quickly. As the knocking sounded again, he stood and made his way to the door, mentally swearing. He didn't have time for these interruptions if he was going to get the information he needed before tonight's broadcast.   
He swung open the door, fully prepared to snarl at whoever was there. The tall attractive man with the auburn hair and hazel eyes was the last person he expected.   
"Ben?" He asked astonished. "Is that you?"   
"The one and only." With that they both smiled, laughing as Logan pulled his into a hug. "God Cale, it must have been, what five, six years?" Ben Gallagher said after he had stepped into the apartment. Logan shut the door behind him and studied Ben. "Well, I haven't seen you since those last couple of parties after graduation. What are you doing in Seattle? I thought you were stationed in New York?"  
Ben just laughed. "Well, let's just say I am taking a well deserved vacation."  
"In Seattle?" Logan asked in disbelief. Ben snorted.  
"Hardly! No offense my friend, but this place is a hellhole. My flight had a connection at Seattle International, but it got cancelled. The next flight to Tokyo isn't till Monday morning."  
"Yea, Tokyo is more your style. So you decided to pay me a visit then. Come on, I'll give you a drink and you can update me on the past seven years." 


	2. Whipped

A/N: Thanks to Alejux for all his patience in helping me figure out how all this crap works, I think I would have done something drastic in about two minutes if i hadnt (finally) figured it out.  
  
  
  
Logan's Apartment  
About 8:00 PM  
Max finished picking the lock to Logan's front door. She was in a rare mood, happy with everything and everyone. It had been a wonderful day; even Normal seemed to be in a good mood. If memory served, Max thought as she heard the lock click, the Nazi didn't 'bip' once. As the door swung open, Max's smile widened. 'I don't know why Logan even bothers.' She stepped inside and slammed it behind her. "Logan?" She called out. Hearing his voice from the kitchen, she headed that way, practically dancing into the room, file clutched in her hand. When Max got close to the door, she stopped and her smile widened. Logan was genuinely laughing, a sound that was all too rare lately. It was sarcastic or ironic, but it was a genuine laugh. Max slowly approached the door to see what was so funny. Max studied the scene with mild curiosity, but wasn't really concerned with the catalyst, more with the results. She studied the two men in the room for a long moment, as the story was complete.   
Logan was leaning against the counter, a wine glass at his elbow, a smile brightening his face. Across from him, sitting on the opposite counter was a man that Max hadn't met before, but obviously knew Logan well. He had rich, dark red hair and appeared quite tall, even sitting.   
"…So the chick turns to me and says 'who the hell are you talking about? I am Gloria Williams, not Sophia!'" This sent Logan on another peal of laughter.  
"You're kidding! You picked up the wrong person?"  
"Well you might find this funny, but my publisher didn't, not in the very least."  
Finally sick of observing and not participating, Max reached up and tapped the doorframe with the edge of the file she still held. "Knock, knock" She said in a singsong voice. Both men turned to look at her, each with their own reaction.  
Logan was struck with the basic longing her felt whenever he saw Max, but as always chose to ignore.   
Ben wondered whom this dark haired goddess, wearing an outfit that just screamed breaking-and-entering.   
Logan spoke first, while Ben continued to stare, not bothering to disguise it. "Oh hey, Max."   
'So the goddess has a name. Well this could turn out to be an interesting couple of days. ' Ben thought.  
"Hello to all." Max said cheerily. Logan raised one eyebrow at Max's rare good mood. "Max, this is Ben Gallagher, my best friend from college. Ben, this is Max Guevara, a…friend of mine." Ben was the only one, who noticed the slight hesitation, as it was very slight, but working with the people that Ben had put up with, you catch these things. Max stepped into the room and offered a hand. "Nice to meet you Ben."   
Ben accepted the hand a replied with a murmured, "Yes, very nice."   
Max then turned to Logan and gestured vaguely with the file. "I got the information you asked me to pick up. I'll just put this in your office. I want to show you a few things, so bring me a drink and join me."  
With that she turned and left the room, heading to Logan's office, practically skipping. "Well Cale, were you holding out on me?"  
"What?" Logan asked as he snagged a wine glass from a cupboard.  
"Max, the girlfriend?"  
"Max is * not * my girlfriend." Logan said deliberately as he poured the chilled wine into the glass. "Hmmm. Well, I'm here for a couple of days, maybe I'll…take a poke at her." Ben said this, purely intending on testing Logan's reaction. 'If my hunch is correct…'  
Logan resisted the urge to fling the wine bottle at Ben's head. As great of a friend as Ben was, he seriously wanted to beat the hell out of him sometimes. "There will be NO poking, thank you very much. I'll be right back." Logan turned at stalked out of the room, Max's glass of wine in one hand, the other hand clenched in a tight fist.   
Ben stared after him, laughter in his eyes. 'Yep.' He thought smugly. 'Logan's whipped.' 


	3. Conspiracy Theroy

Streets of Seattle  
8:45 PM  
After a quick side trip to Ben's rental car where he grabbed a small camera bag out of the passenger seat, he and Max decided to walk the few blocks it was to Crash. They walked down the quiet Seattle streets, Ben entertaining Max with tales of his and Logan's adventures, disasters, and schemes from their days at Yale.   
"So what did you end up doing after you graduated?" Max asked as they stepped off the curb to cross the street. "Well, I had my journalism degree in hand, but after I got a job for the New York Post, writing about politics of all things, I made a startling discovery. I hated writing, I was good at it, but I hated having to wake up and do it everyday. Now this really sucked for me, and I was getting ready to just quit, but a photographer suddenly quit, and some great soul suggested I learn how to work a camera and temp for them till they got a replacement. One week later I was an official full time photojournalist."  
"That explains the camera bag. Are you any good?" Max asked bluntly.   
"Well, I've been doing this for just over 6 years now, I've gotten two Pulitzer prizes back in New York." Ben replied just as bluntly.   
"Well then, I see you're a passably good photographer then." She stated, laughing. They walked the next few blocks in silence. Ben decided to put his plan into action. Subject one had passed with flying colors, so it was now time to test subject two. "Max, what would you say if I asked you out to dinner, say tomorrow night?" He studied her face out of the corner of his eye, gauging her reaction. He saw her slightly wince. "Well, I'd have to say no, because I am interested in someone else. Even if it is against my better judgement."   
Of all the reactions that Max could have expected, the large smile that Ben was wearing was not it. "Ok Max, time to let you in on my little secret. No offense, but you are so not my type. I generally stay away from women who look like they could kick my a*ss. So that was just a test."  
Max glanced over to him quizzically. "Test for what?"  
"I'm going to help you get Logan." Max stopped dead in her tracks, staring at Ben icily. "What?" She drew the words out in a way that clearly said 'Give me a reason to kick you.'  
"Don't even bother to deny that Logan isn't your 'other interest.' The sparks that fly off of you people singe innocent bystanders. You don't have to worry about me telling Logan anything, I am the one plotting against him with you."  
Max crossed her arms and stared a little longer at Ben. "Fine, like you said, I can kick you're a*ss if need be. Ok, so I want Logan. What makes you think he in any way wants me? He has made no indications of such that I have picked up on."  
"You aren't me. When you work at my job, you pick up on how to gauge human emotions. You didn't see the look in his eyes when you walked into the kitchen. He completely spazzed when I ever-so-casually asked for tips of scoring with you." Ben saw the look in Max's eyes. "What, I knew he was so long gone on you, I had to make sure! Anyways, you were harder to figure out. But after my little experiment I've decided to spend my time in Seattle playing cupid."  
Max started walking again; they were about a block away from Crash. "This better not embarrass me!"  
Ben took that as an agreement. "It won't because you are going to know very little. All you have to do is go along with whatever I do. Lesson one is Logan has a very large jealous streak. Use it to your advantage. Just play along with me, and whatever he says I said, I did. I'll take care of everything else." By then they had reached the entrance of Crash, a mixture of music and voices flowed out. Max grabbed Ben's arm and weaved their way through the crowd and to the door. Suddenly she stopped and glanced at Ben. "I have friends. They are all convinced that Logan, as Original Cindy refers to him, is my sugar daddy. You need help with this little plan of yours, go to them. But I don't want to know, the little I know, the better." Ben grinned impishly. "Now you're getting into the spirit of things. God, I love a good conspiracy."  



	4. 

Logan stepped out of his car onto the cracked and dirty streets of Seattle. It was 10:30, almost two and a half hours after Ben had led Max out of his apartment, his arm draped across her in a comfortable fashion that Logan had always wanted to do, but never had the nerve to do it. Instead of going into Crash right now, Logan rather do…. Well, just about anything. Dental work involving lots of needles on top of a spider infested tall building was sounding pretty good about now.   
For the first twenty minuets after Max and Ben had left he hadn't been able to concentrate at all. Logan regretted that he didn't have the chance to discourage Ben, whether it had been by threats of bodily harm or good old-fashioned lying.   
After he had finally buried himself in files and paperwork, almost two hours had passed without thought of anything. Logan in no way felt like going to watch Ben hit on Max, but if he didn't go Max would likely come up and drag him down by his hair. So instead of risking his health, he was now weaving his way through the crowds to the corner where Max and the Jam Pony crew usually sat. When he heard a burst of laughter he turned to where a small group of people where crowded around a table. He spotted Original Cindy, Sketchy, and Herbal sitting nearby and headed in that direction. When Logan got close to their table they were deep in debate over some unknown and unimportant topic. Cindy stopped mid-sentence when she noticed Logan's approach. "Well Hello Mr. Moneybags." Cindy stated as she yawned, stretching her arms over her head. Logan was now used to Cindy's brash and unusual way of addressing him. Max mentioned shortly after Logan had started to walk again that Cindy was having trouble coming up with new names to address him with now that "Roller Boy" and all its variations was out of play. Now all she really had left were names having to do with his money, which merely amused him.   
Before Logan could reply Cindy continued in her usual way, which was always quite loud. "I see homegirl somehow convinced you to leave your tower of terror and join the human race for a few hours of cheap entertainment." She said sarcastically.   
"Yeah, I figured that I could either do what she said or I could get the hell beaten out of me with a blunt object. It was a long, hard decision, but I feel I made the right one." Logan returned just as sarcastically. This pleased Cindy and she gestured for him to sit. Logan grabbed an extra chair from a near by table. "Where'd Ben and Max go off to? I don't see them." Logan asked in a voice that he hoped sounded much more casual than he felt. Of course Cindy, being an expert in relationships, heterosexual or other, picked up on this and merely pointed out to the dance floor. It was no wonder Logan hadn't been able to see Max, Ben, anything or anyone. The dance floor was a crush of bodies jammed into a small space. It was pretty much guaranteed that whomever you went out on the dance floor with, you'd have be pressed up against them and half the other people close to you.   
Max and Ben were no exception, bumping and grinding to the fast-pitched beat of the hip hop music pulsing out over the crowd. Ben spoke under his breath, only loud enough for Max to hear, "He's just spotted us." They had caught Cindy's signal that Logan was nearby, the yawn and stretch. "I don't know why I agreed to this. This isn't going to work, Ben. You're just going to embarrass me. My friends are never going to let this go."  
"Stop freaking out and act natural. Ok, he has now gotten over the shock I think. Now he is looking annoyed. He has just said something to Cindy, about this I assume because she just glanced over here and she looks as if she is trying not to laugh in Cale's face." He spun Max around a few times. He saw Cindy pull the straw out of her drink and chew on the end of it. "Ok, just got the next signal. Time to make our grand entrance." Max just made a sound in her throat, something with a semblance to annoyance. He shot her a grin and spoke as they weaved towards the table. "Just play along with me and Cindy. We got it all worked out." Max rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Just don't screw this up. If you do they will * never * find all the pieces." Before Ben could reply they had reached the table. He draped his arm around Max, and she did her best not shrug it off. "I see you decided to drag yourself away from your computers for a few minuets." Ben said sarcastically.  
"Yeah well, I'm here." Logan said. 'Though I wish I wasn't' He resented the fact that it sounded like he was sulking, eve if he was, he didn't need to sound like it. They all, Max, Ben, and Cindy, was resisting the urge to roll their eyes at him. Cindy stood and straightened the short skirt she was wearing. "I'm going to go grab another round of drinks. We have the rich folk' with us tonight, so I'm thirsty." She turned to Max and shot her a look that told her all she needed to know. "I'll come with you Cindy, help you carry them all back." They walked away from the table, squeezing through crowds of people towards the bar.   
Ben collapsed in a chair across from Logan, who just sat scowling at him. "What?" Ben asked innocently. "Nothing." Logan mumbled. Ben crossed his arms across his chest and raised an eyebrow. "Ok." Logan sat silent for another moment before speaking. When he did speak he spoke quickly, voice laced with hidden frustrations and anger. "Max is different, she isn't your type." He stated pathetically. "Then why, if she isn't my type, would she give me her number?" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper, that if Logan had looked at, he would have realized that it was really a receipt from the car rental company. 'Whatever works.' Ben thought as he pocketed the paper before Logan noticed.   
"Look man, if I am imposing on something here…like some sort of unspoken thing here, let me know and I'll back off. But if not, I'm so going to take what you apparently don't want."  
Logan didn't answer; he just stared at the table, slowly shredding a napkin near by, his jaw clenched. You'd have to be blind, deaf, and mentally challenged not to see that Logan was in love with Max.   
It was a long two hours for Logan. He just sat around drinking low quality alcohol Max and Ben flirted shamelessly. 'This is sickening.' Logan thought as the pile of shredded napkins grew.   
He was about to make his excuses and leave when Max grabbed his arm. "Where do you think you're going?"   
It was the first time that Max and Logan had been alone all night. "Um, well there is this little place I have, I refer to it as home. It has a bed in it. And in that bed I do something that us mere mortals refer to as sleep." Logan stated sarcastically.   
"Well your not going to leave before the competition are you? Cindy has probably enter me against my again. Stay another half hour." Max pleaded, hoping she wasn't obvious about it. "Why Max, you've got Ben here to watch you. I'm tired." He started to stand again. Max dropped her arm away from his, hurt. "Fine Logan, see you later then." She stood and headed towards the dance floor again. Logan instantly felt bad for brushing her off as abruptly as he did, so he called her name intending to apologize.   
  
Max stopped at the edge of the dance floor and called to Cindy, who was dancing with her next unsuspecting victim, err lickety-boo. "Cindy! I'm heading out. I'll see you at home!" Max shouted across the floor. Cindy waved at her, acknowledging that she heard and then turned back to her interest. She then headed over to the pay phones where Ben still stood, leaning against a wall talking. He gestured her over with his hand and she waited a moment while he ended his call. "Hey, I'm getting out of here. Your little plan backfired in a major way, and I don't feel like messing around anymore."  
  
Ben looked at hey sympathetically and gave her a hug. "I'm sorry Max, I thought it would work. Want me to beat on him? If not to make you feel better, to entertain you?"  
Max smiled weakly, "That is ok, I just want to get out of here."  
"Will you come by and see me before I leave on Sunday?"  
"Of course I will. If you don't here from me, have Logan page me and I'll get there as soon as I can."   
After Ben had watched Max leave out a back door, he went to stand next to Logan who was still waiting for Max to return. "Logan I am heading back now too. You driving me?"   
"I've got to wait for Max, I've pissed her for wanting to leave and I've got to apologize."  
Ben laughed cynically. "You think she cares if you stayed? God you are inept! She's already gone, out the back door. Logan, you have one hell of a woman, who despite the fact that you shove her away at every opportunity, still wants to be with you. I don't know how you cannot just look at her and miss what she feels for you. Oh the hell with it!" Ben exclaimed as he grabbed the car keys out of Logan's hand. "You can fucking walk."   
Logan stared after Ben shocked thoroughly; shocked enough not to realize that Ben had his keys and his car and it was midnight in Seattle.   
If what Ben had said was true, Max felt the same for him as he felt for her. This was such a revelation to him. In the months that Logan had been infatuated with Max, he'd never once entertained the thought that Max might feel the same.  
  
Well, he'd have plenty of time to think about it on the long walk home, because Ben had stolen his car.   



	5. 

Max sat curled up on the couch in her apartment. She was under a heavy quilt with a cup of half decent coffee that she had pawned off of Logan recently. An old Pre-Pulse movie was playing on TV, not that Max was really paying attention to the plot of it. She was busy employing a trick she had learned back at Manticore in the good old days. If Max was able to concentrate on one object, like a spot in the wall, and count backwards, she could completely turn her mind, her thoughts off. It was sort of like a self-hypnosis, a thing that helped you get things off your mind. So it took a bit for the knocking at her door to penetrate her conciseness. Whoever it was, it was close to one AM, and Max did not appreciate being disturbed when she had things on her mind. She dropped the blanket from around her shoulders and padded to the door. She flung it open about ready to snarl at whoever was there, and when she saw whom it was she only wanted to growl louder.   
Logan didn't know why he was here. One minuet he was on his way home, swearing at Ben for 'borrowing' his car, the next he was at Max's door wondering what was taking her so long to answer to door. When she opened the door, Logan studied her for a moment. It didn't matter what she was wearing, whether it be the leather and denim he was used to, or the loose flannel pants and tight, pale yellow tank top she was wearing now. Max's hair was piled on top of her head in a messy knot, with several curls falling down around her face and neck. It didn't matter what she wore because she would always be stunning.   
"What do you want Logan, I'm tired." She stated without bothering with a greeting.   
"Well, hello to you to Max." Logan replied mildly. Max didn't answer, just placed one hand on her hip and raised and cocked an eyebrow. She turned, shuffling back to the couch. Max plopped on the couch, grabbing the blanket and wrapping it around her. "Now did you get lost or did Ben kick you out?"  
"Ben didn't kick me out, he stole my car." Max snorted.  
"Well I came here, sort of, I guess you could call it a reaction to something he said to me." Logan saw Max instantly tense. He was pretty sure that something was going on behind his back that he didn't know about, but wasn't really concerned about what it was right now. "And what was that?"  
"Oh, don't worry about it." Logan walked up in front of the couch and crouched down in front of her. "Well you can thank Ben for this, because if he was wrong both you and I are going to want to kill him." Max's eyes reflected her utter confusion, and by the time she could think, Logan had moved to quickly.   
He moved forward and cupped his hand around her neck and dragged her mouth to his.   
It wasn't a long kiss, in fact it was quite short, but when Logan leaned back and stood silently, Max stared at him, eyes wide, mouth hanging open. "Just to clear some things up, I wasn't being emotional, we're not in a car, and there isn't a whole lot of things going on right now. So, I wont bother trying to talk my way out this tomorrow." His mouth turned up into a boyish grin. Max still hadn't said a word. "Ok, that's all I had to cover. See you later." Logan said cheerfully as he stood and walked calmly out the door.   
Max still hadn't moved from her stunned position on the couch. She turned to see the door quietly click shut.   
"What in the * hell * just happened?"  
  



	6. 

~~  
Saturday May 16, 2019  
About 7:30 AM  
Ben sat at the counter in the kitchen of Logan's apartment, eating a bowl of cereal and drinking a mug of high quality coffee. This was one area that Ben and Logan had always differed. Ben was always up at the crack of dawn and nearly always happy. He found it nearly impossible to sleep past eight AM, even if he was waking up with the hangover from hell, which was a pretty common occurrence from his college days. Logan always resented getting up, usually not doing it unless someone was dying or a bomb went off. It looked like things were still the same, as Ben was up and out, and Logan as still locked in his room, asleep.  
So he was just finishing his first mug of coffee and flipping through the world news section of the paper when Max flung open the door looking extremely pleased. "Hey." She said as she shut the door behind her. "Bonjour. I didn't know you had a key." Ben said. Max walked into the kitchen and grabbed a coffee mug. She smiled impishly. "I don't." She poured some coffee into her mug and leaned back against the counter taking a deep sip.   
"Well I know it didn't take Logan till 2AM to walk home, so I assume he went by your place first. Your in too good of a mood to still be pissed at him."  
"Your right, I'm not. Let's just say I am about to get my revenge."  
"Revenge for what?"  
Max just smiled and sipped her coffee. Without answering his question she continued. "Why don't you go take a walk Ben? Go see the sights." She said complacently.   
"I will later, I'm going to finish breakfast first."  
"Ben." Max said sternly. "Take a walk."  
"Well on second thought, I'll just have Logan make me something later." Ben said rising from the barstool he had been sitting on. Max set her mug down and headed towards the closed door. "Uh, Max, he's still asleep."  
"Not for long."  
"Well, if I remember correctly, Logan does not like to be woken up. He in fact, will be quite unhappy with whoever disturbs him."  
Max threw a wicked smile over her shoulder as she approached the door. "Oh I'm counting on it." With that she quietly tiptoed into the dark room, shutting the door behind her.   
Ben poured a second cup of coffee and was at the door slipping on a light jacket when he heard a loud crash come from Logan's room. "Wake up sunshine." He heard Max shout over Logan's muffled curses. Ben was not aware that those particular words could be put together in that fashion, but hey, whatever floats your boat.   
He was just opening the door when Max sauntered out of Logan's room, humming. "I'll be back later then. Don't injure him to badly." Ben stated as he walked out the door.   
When Logan stepped out of his room about ten minuets later wearing the loose drawstring pants he'd slept in, he was scowling, only half awake. He hadn't bothered to put on a shirt, and he didn't have his glasses on. His hair was, as usual, spiky, but on the one side it was flat from where his head had been laying on a pillow. He'd been having a very nice dream involving Max, himself, and the kitchen floor, then next thing he knew he was on the floor, awake, and Max was kneeling on his bed, yelling things at him. What exactly, he wasn't sure, but it was yelling none the less. So when he stepped out of the room, and sunlight hitting him in the face, Max humming merrily to her self, he wasn't exactly pleased.   
Nope, this whole awake thing just wasn't working for Logan at the moment.   
He didn't say a word as he walked to the counter next to Max and grabbed the closest mug to him and drank deeply from it. "Hey!" Max admonished as she made a grab for the mug, missing narrowly as Logan shoved her none to gently back. "That was mine, thank you very much!" She stated, leaning back against the counter again sulking. Logan finally became coherent enough to answer. "No, it was mine, my coffee, my mug, my apartment. You just stole it from me, and I stole it back." He said, his voice still distorted and gruff from sleep. "Plus, you woke me up. Me stealing your coffee is a small price to pay."  
Max reached up into a cupboard for another mug, resigning her self to getting herself a new mug.   
"It doesn't matter, Logan." She replied, stretching his name out into two syllables. "I had it first. That wasn't very polite."   
"Who dragged who out of bed when they were sleeping?"  
Max grinned. "Muscle spasm?"  
"What was all that about? Did you have a purpose for busting in here at this ungodly hour?"  
"Mmm-hmmm." Max said nodding.   
Logan stood waiting for her to explain. She remained silent and continued to sip at her mug. "It can't be my stunning morning personality, so care to explain?"   
"No, I don't want to explain."  
"Ok, your not making a whole hell of a lot of sense right now."  
"Yes I am, I don't want to explain, but I am more then willing to demonstrate."  
"Demonstrate what?"   
Max calmly placed her mug on the counter and sighed. She stood silent for another moment. Then she moved in a flash, jumping off of the counter and into his arms. She fisted both hands in his hair and fused her mouth to his. Logan reached out with the one hand that still held the mug that was formerly Max's, trying to get it on the counter. When she changed the angle of the kiss he just dropped it and faintly heard the sound of shattering pottery. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he pulled her body closer to his.   
I was a war of tongues, teeth, and mouths, brutal as they tried to make up for months of sexual tensions and frustrations in one glorious kiss.   
Ben opened the door to the apartment a moment later. "Hey I forgot my-Jesus Christ!" He exclaimed as he saw the couple embracing in the kitchen. Logan waved one arm at him in an angry gesture that Ben roughly translated as either 'get the hell out' or 'don't make me kill you'. "Never mind. I'll come back later. Much later." Ben said laughing as he shut the door again. Even as he rode the elevator back to the ground floor, Ben was still laughing. Sometimes Logan needed a little nudge, which Ben felt he had delivered. And sometimes he needed a swift kick in the ass, which Max had taken care of. 'Whatever works.' Ben thought as he stepped out into the cool Seattle morning air, setting out towards anywhere that would keep him away from kitchen activities in the residence of Logan Cale.   
  
The only thought running through Max's head as she stood in Logan's arms in his kitchen was 'Payback's a bitch, aint it?'  



	7. What to Do? What to Wear?

Logan's Apartment  
2:30 PM  
Logan sat in his office, not really concentrating on anything, when Ben walked in. He had both of his hands clasped over his eyes. "Is it all clear? Is everyone fully clothed?"  
Logan laughed. "Screw you, Gallagher." He said good-naturedly.   
Ben dropped his hands. "Well with the way things were going when I walked in, I was expecting to be greeted by piles of clothes scattered about the rooms." Ben stated with mock shock.  
"Yeah right, we are both a little more mature than that."  
"She had to go to work didn't she?" Ben asked knowingly.  
"Yeah." Logan replied with a sigh.  
"Well listen, I know you and Max probably wanted to do something with me tonight since it's my last night. But to bad, I've got a hot waitress from the coffee shop that wants to have dinner with me. So I won't be around." Ben knew the wheels were already turning in Logan's head. "I'm sure you can find something else to do."  
"Yeah, I'll figure something out." Logan said soberly, narrowly resisting the urge to do a victory dance. Before Ben had come in Logan was trying to figure out a way to get Ben the hell out of his way so he could spend 'quality' time with Max. Similar to the 'quality' time they had spent together this morning, against his kitchen counter.   
When Ben had gone back to the guest room to call his editors on his cell phone, Logan grabbed the phone and punched in a set of very familiar numbers. Not more than three minuets later, Logan's phone rang. "Hello, darling." He said intimately.   
"Logan?" The female voice said quizzically.  
"Oh, Hi Aunt Margaret." Logan said wincing.   
A few minuets after he'd hung up with his aunt, making an excuse to get out of yet another blind date, the phone rang again. "Hello?" He said very carefully this time.   
"You rang?" Max said breathlessly. She had been on a run when Logan had paged, and she'd never hauled a*ss to a phone that fast in her life.  
"Well, thanks to you, I just inadvertently hit on my aunt." Logan said playfully.  
"Ok, whatever you do in your free time is your business." Max said laughing.  
"Listen, your having dinner here tonight." Logan said authoritatively.  
"Am I? I wasn't aware of this. It is amazing when I make decisions that even I don't know about them, but you magically do." Max said leaning against the side of the phone booth.  
"Ben's going out." Logan said evenly.  
"8 o'clock good for you?"  
Logan was still laughing as they ended the call.   
Both Max and Logan had the same frivolous thought.   
  
'What am I going to make for dinner. More importantly, what am I going to wear?'  
'What is he going to make for dinner? More importantly, what am I going to wear?'  
  



	8. Dizzy

  
Inside Jam Pony, Max was standing at her locker when Cindy walked up. "Hey boo." She said as she turned the combination lock on her own locker. They had just gotten off and were trying to get out before Normal found something else for them to do. "Hey, Cindy." Max said cheerily as she grabbed her book bag out of the locker and slammed it shut. "You coming by Crash tonight?" Cindy said, already knowing the answer, just wanting conformation. "Nah, probably not. I have plans."  
"Dinner with Rich Boy?" The smile that bloomed on Max's face was so different than her usual reaction to the mention of Logan, Cindy was suspicious. "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Spill it." Cindy said, dropping down to sit cross-legged on the closest bench. Max sat too, perching herself on the edge of the bench. "There is really nothing to tell."   
"Bullshit, what happened?" Max said shyly. This was the first time she had really had a relationship where she actually cared. With other men, like Darren, she hadn't cared. If he was there, fine, if not, just as well. But with Logan it was so different, like nothing else she had ever felt before. When she was with him, it was like there was nothing else in the world. Everything else ceased to exist, she couldn't think of anything else. When Max was away from him, she still couldn't get him out of his mind.   
Such she told to Cindy in a flood of words, mind reeling as a sudden revelation hit her.  
"Oh my god. Oh my god." Max gasped, suddenly short of breath. "I'm in love with him. I'm in love with Logan." Her head spun. "I think I am going to pass out."  
Cindy pushed Max's head between her knees. "Boo, what is the problem? We all knew you loved him way before you did. Breathe in, breathe out."   
"What am I going to do? I've never been in love before. What have I done?" Max said; the sound muffled by her legs.   
Sketchy and Herbal walked up pushing their bikes. Sketchy stared at Max with concern in his eyes. "What's wrong with Max?" He asked under his breath.   
"She just realized that she is in love with Logan." Cindy whispered back.   
"Damn it! Why couldn't she have stayed in denial for another week?" Cindy put out her hand in a regal gesture. Sketchy and Herbal reached into their pockets and produced a few crumpled bills each and slapped them into Cindy's hand, grumbling to themselves as they walked away.   
Max say up, still pale, as Cindy pocketed the cash. "What was that about?" She asked, confused.   
  
"Oh, we had a bet going that if you admitted you were in love with Logan by next Friday they each had to pay me twenty dollars." Cindy explained matter-of-factly.  
"You were betting on me? I am freaking out here, and you made money off of it?" Max exclaimed, insulted.   
"Yeah, that's pretty much it."  
"Don't you think I should get a cut for being the subject of this ridiculous bet?" Max asked.  
"No." Cindy said simply. She grabbed her own bag as she hauled Max up off the bench. "Come on, I only have about an hour to get you all slutted up for your date with the terror in the tower." 


	9. Heart Failure

When Logan heard the knock on the door about an hour later, the first thought was finally. Thinking Max was late, he glanced down at his watch. 8:03. Late. He wrenched open the door, and his second thought was…well he didn't have a second thought, after he saw Max; he became completely incapable of any thoughts at all.   
She was wearing a simple black dress, a thin string halter-top tied around her neck, leaving her shoulders bare. Her hair was a mass of dark curls, framing her face, brushing her shoulders. The beautiful creation flowed down, tight enough to captivate, loose enough to make you wonder. It ended mid thigh, where smoky black pantyhose hugged long, thin legs, all the way down to the sky scraper high heels that lifted Max several inches above her normal height.   
Her face remained sober throughout the lengthy study. She finally cracked when Logan opened and shut his mouth a couple times without making any noise. She brought a hand to her mouth and giggled helplessly. "If you could only see the look on your face. It is almost worth letting Cindy whore-ify me."   
Logan had finally rolled his tongue back into his mouth he managed to say, "Cindy is responsible for this?" Max nodded. He grabbed her hand and dragged her inside the door, kicking it shut behind him. He pulled her along to the phone, grabbing it and dialing one handed as he continued to hold Max at an arms length.   
"Cindy? It's Logan. I just wanted to thank you for that poor excuse for a dress you shoved Max into." As he hung up they both heard the burst of laughter echo out of the earpiece.   
"Why are you thanking her? I am the one who had to walk through South Market in this get up. Do you know how many marriage proposals I got?  
"No." Logan replied.  
"Either do I, I lost count after a while."  



	10. Drunk as a Skunk

About two hours later, still sitting at the dining room table, giggling helplessly at everything and anything. "Max," Logan said reaching out for the wine bottle. He started laughing again as he picked up the bottle. He tried to put on a serious face. "We just drank an entire bottle of wine." They were silent a moment before they both started hysterically laughing again.   
"I think you drank most of it. I only had like two or three or six glasses." But even as she said this, she picked up her glass and drained the last sip. This sent them both off on another fit of laughter. Logan put his elbows up on the table. "Did I ever tell you that you were pretty?" Again, they both snorted. Max replied the action, putting her own elbows up and propping up her head. "Did I ever tell you that I love you?" This made them roll with laughter. Max was leaning over gripping her sides.   
"And I love you."  
Suddenly, the both stopped laughing.   
"What?" They both said simultaneously.   
They were silent for another moment.   
"What did you say?" Max asked standing.  
"What did you say?" Logan rose also. They both walked, or stumbled, around the table till they were standing within inches of each other. Then they both started laughing again.   
Max grabbed Logan's arm and stumbled to the couch. They were both doubled over with laughter. "I…can't...breathe!" Logan gasped.   
"We…have…to…stop…laughing." Max said, tears streaming down her face from laughing so hard.   
"Too…much…wine…. drunk…. we're drunk." Logan managed. Max leaned over, wrapping an arm around Logan and kissed his cheek. Then she almost immediately fell asleep, slumping over onto Logan, her face pressed against his chest. Logan smiled, as he was feeling pretty sleepy himself, and brushed a strand of hair off her face. He'd never had the chance to watch Max sleep before, and might not have the chance again, so he cherished these moments. He slowly moved her, so she wouldn't wake, and laid back and watched her sleep. The last thought he had before drifting off to sleep himself was that he was going to buy and entire case of whatever wine they had just drank.   
  



	11. Adios Amigos

Ben walked into Logan's dim apartment about three hours later. Though the date had been far from a success, it had been a cheap form of entertainment. Fifteen minuets into the date, she was talking about her mean, mean ex boyfriend, and how he had been a mean, mean man. After being bored to tears hearing about that, Ben decided it was time to get the hell out of there. The only thing that was actually good about the date was giving Max and Logan time together. Knowing that Logan had not told him, Ben guessed he was trying to be all secretive about it.   
Logan was like that; he tried to keep pretty obvious things secret from Ben. Like he didn't know that Logan was planning a nice dinner with Max. He just hoped he wasn't interrupting anything by coming back to his place.   
So of all the things he'd expected he could run into, Max and Logan curled up together on the couch asleep was the not one of them. It wasn't like it was late, it was only 11:30, but they were both dead to the world. It was truly a nice scene; Max's head snuggled into the space between his shoulder and neck. His arms were wrapped around Max's waist, head resting on top of hers.   
Ben decided not to miss an opportunity for a great picture. He walked to his room to grab his camera bag, and then he saw the dining room table. The dishes were still there, and Ben saw the empty bottle of wine. 'Well that explains a lot.' Ben thought lifting the bottle and reading the label. 'Good stuff.'  
He returned to the guest room and grabbed his camera. Walking back to the couch, he lined up his shot, adjusted the aperture and focus, and took the picture. When he lowered the camera, he mumbled to himself, "I deserve at least a thank you fruit basket. Or a thank you BMW." Ben grabbed a blanket off the back of a chair and gently covered the pair on the couch. He then turned and went back to the guest room, knowing that even after he left, he could still come back and beat the shit out of Logan if he managed to screw that up. Ben didn't think even Logan would or could be that retarded.   
  
Sunday May 20, 2019  
7:30 AM  
Max awoke quickly and suddenly, eyes flying open as she sat up. Max didn't often sleep, and when she did it was always in the safety and comfort of her bed. When she woke up this morning, the fact that the area was unfamiliar was accompanied by an intense headache. She untangled the blanket that was wrapped around her. When her eyes adjusted to the dim lighting and she realized she was in Logan's apartment, she instantly relaxed. Looking down, Max studied a still asleep Logan. His arms were still wrapped loosely around her waist.  
She didn't remember a whole lot from the night before, but she did know that there was a lot of alcohol and they had professed their love for each other while giggling like school children. There was one and only one thing that Max had to do now. When she stood, removing herself from Logan's grasp, she quietly eased away. He rolled over, luckily for Max, not waking. A few minuets later she was out of the apartment, barefooted, carrying her shoes by the straps in one hand.  
Logan awoke about an hour later, instantly wondering why he was alone. He continued to lie on his back, staring at the ceiling, sadly disappointed. HE crossed his arms behind his head, and thought over the events of the night before. Max had run. They barely spent any time together, subtract the time it took them both to get rip roaring drunk. He'd told her he loved her. And she told him that she loved him. And she ran. How did he expect to have any sort of relationship with her, when she would probably run at every opportunity?   
It was then Logan that Logan noticed the light purple post-it note stuck to his chest. Pulling one arm from behind his head, he plucked it off his shirt and read the note.  
'Logan,  
I went back to my place to change clothes and didn't want to wake you.   
Will be back in about an hour. You can stop thinking I ran away now. I didn't.  
Love,  
Max'  
Logan read the note over again several times. 'She didn't run.' Logan thought as he smiled. He didn't have a whole lot of time to think about much of anything before Ben came walking out of the guest bedroom carrying a duffle bag. It was then that he remembered that Ben was leaving today, and if he remembered correctly, his flight being in a few hours.   
When Ben spotted Logan sitting on the couch, reading a piece of purple paper, he rolled his eyes. "Hey lover boy, where is Max?" he asked as he dropped his bag next to the door. Logan continued to sit at the couch, note still firmly grasped in his hand, "She went back to change clothes. She'll be back soon."  
"That sucks, I have to leave in a minuet. I'd hoped to get a chance to say goodbye to her." Ben said as he walked into the kitchen and poured a cup of coffee.   
Logan followed him and grabbed a mug for himself. "Hey look," Logan said. "Sorry I didn't get to spend much time with you, showing you around Seattle or whatever."  
"Don't worry about it, I enjoyed pissing both you and Max off with my amazing match making skills."  
"So that is what that sound is, your ego inflating. Well we would have stumbled are way around this on our own. We really didn't need you."  
"You are so full of it. You guys still would have been circling this in your nursing homes." Logan grinned. Ben glanced down at his watch. After grabbing a piece of paper and scrawling a quick note to Max, he folded it up and left it on the counter.   
"Well, I have got to go. You guys should come out to New York. See the sites, visit the much better bars." Ben said as he walked to the door. Logan made a non-committing sound and followed him to the door. "I'll call you when I get into New York." Ben said as he opened the door and hefted his bag up. "Oh, and Logan…"  
"Hmmm?" Logan replied.  
"You fuck this up, I'll kill you." With that, Ben grinned and shut the door, leaving much as he had come.   
  
About a half hour later, Max walked into the penthouse, announcing her arrival at the highest possible tone. She found him in the kitchen making breakfast for two.   
"Where's Ben at?" She asked as she sat at the counter.   
"Well hello to you too." Logan said as he dumped some sort of batter into a pan.   
"Hi." She said as she leaned over and gave him a smacking kiss on the cheek. She sat on the counter, content to watch Logan cook. "Ben's gone, had to catch his flight. He wrote you a note, it's over there." Logan said pointing at the other end of the counter with a spatula. "It's a day of notes isn't it?" Max said as she slid over and snagged the folded paper. Max opened and read the quickly scrawled handwriting.  
'Miz Maxine,  
Sorry I had to go before you got back, but it's off to Tokyo I go to salvage what is left of my vacation. Good luck with Cale, your sure to need it now that I'm gone.'   
Max snorted.  
'But with one phone call, I can be here to beat him into shape for you. So with that I say adios and hasta la pronto.   
Ben'  
Max smiled and slipped the note into her pocket. "So what is for breakfast?"  
"Pancakes a la Cale. Work for you?"  
"Yeah, that is great." Max said, still smiling.   
After a few minuets of silence, Logan glanced over his shoulder. "You know what we should do tonight, which we have neglected to do in all the time that we have known each other."  
"What is that?" Max asked as she pulled a container of orange juice out of Logan's fridge.   
"We should go on an actual date."  
Max turned from the fridge. "As in, outside of this place. Like, as in, a dinner made by someone other than you?"  
"I'm game if you are."  
~^~^~^~^~~^~^~^~ The End ~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~  
  
  
A/N: I didnt feel like splitting all this up, so oh well, its one nice long chapter now. This one is done too, but there is a sequel. I have the first couple of chapters of the sequel written, I'll start posting them next week sometime. If I forget, just start bugging me.  



End file.
